Category Archives: Scan News

Oct 18th – PreSonus “From Riff To Release” Webinar feat Paul White.

October 14, 2016 Pete

We’re delighted to announce a free webinar, suitable for all experience levels and finishing with a live Q&A with Sound On Sound Editor Paul White!

Lee Boylan (Presonus) & Andy Bensley (Source Distribution product specialist) will be presenting on the night, you’ll follow as guitarist Andy writes a riff, that turns into a song, creates a multitrack recording and then mixes and masters it before releasing it for sale and promoting it online – all in one information-packed evening!

This part is especially essential for anyone new to production and guitarists who want to get started in recording, as the guys will show you what is possible on very modestly priced equipment including PreSonus Audiobox Interfaces, Studio One, Eris Monitors and Nimbit.

Then we’ll up the ante and hand the floor over to (the legend that is) Paul White, to answer any of your recording & production questions.

As always, watch out for the special code word in the show, which if emailed back in, will get you some exclusive viewer-only offers on Presonus kit!

Please come and join us for what should be a very entertaining and informative evening! If you can’t make it onto the live stream, we will of course make the show available to view later on our archive channel.

Video Stream Page

Facebook event

Scan YouTube Archives

Promotion & Exposure, Scan News

The Songwriting Academy…..

March 18, 2015 steveaudio

As regular readers will know, Scan have a long history of working in collaboration with selected partners. I’d like to take a little time to introduce another one of our Pro-Audio partners….

Their aim is to become the number one songwriting, production and music business training organisation in the world, delivering the best music education available.
They have a team of experts on hand ( that’s where we come in!) to help you create hit records and be part of one of the most exciting industries ever.
They have brought together a diverse and passionate team of experts with proven track records and decades of experience.

Their team includes Grammy and Ivor Novello winning writers and between them, they’ve written hits for Beyonce, Shakira, Christina Aguilera, Backstreet Boys, Kylie Minogue, LeAnn Rimes, Jennifer Lopez, George Benson, Will Young, EMF, Kenny Rogers, The Saturdays, Lulu, Celine Dion, Seal, Leona Lewis and X-Factor/Idol winners worldwide.

They’ve studied techniques from hit songwriters writing for the world’s charts through the decades, and have developed their unique SCOPE Song System. They will guide you through the entire process from the spark of creation to getting your songs out there.

The Songwriting Academy has everything you need to know about being a songwriter under one roof: workshops, retreats, seminars and resources to help you with writing, producing, publishing, record deals, management and understanding today’s music business.
The next course is called “How to make Money from your Music” and it is led by the Founder and Head Course Instructor Martin Sutton. It takes place on the 28th and 29th of March at
The Bedford, 77 Bedford Hill, Balham, London SW12 9HD
Martin Sutton is the founder of The Songwriting Academy and multi platinum songwriter and producer. Starting as a young busker on the streets of Norwich, he spent years developing the craft of songwriting, travelling the world to work with other writers, learning about the music business and honing his production skills. He is now a successful songwriter/producer and has sold millions of records in nearly 50 countries around the world.

His work includes Backstreet Boys, LeAnn Rimes, Celine Dion, Gary Barlow, Pixie Lott, Mark Owen, Olivia Newton-John, Andrew Roachford, Brian McFadden, Lulu, Mike & The Mechanics, K-Pop superstars Super Junior and X-Factor/Idol winners worldwide.

His teaching methodology and ethos have been described as “life-changing” by many of his students and over the years he has shared his knowledge and experience with thousands, opening their eyes to the world of professional music making. His diverse programming and production skills are widely sought after, from orchestration for Celine Dion and Andrew Lloyd Webber to quirky programming and beat-making for K-Pop/J-Pop artists, and rich country productions for artists including LeAnn Rimes.
If you fancy yourself as a songwriter, and would like to know how to move it on, why not check out the courses on their website here…
http://thesongwritingacademy.co.uk/

Scan News

Musical Geisha nights: Coming to Manchester

February 5, 2015 steveaudio

Scan Pro Audio is proud to announce that the Musical Geisha nights that originated in London are coming to Manchester.

Rowena Morgan is known as the Musical Geisha. (A Geisha was a Japanese Hostess in olden times…)

For the last couple of years she has run the Musical Geisha evenings at Metropolis Studios in London, and Scan Pro Audio has been the sponsor for these events supplying drinks for the first few rounds of the evenings and bringing special guests who can talk to people about kit and arrange special discounts.

Rowena has a very special little black book which includes contacts for some of the biggest and best names in the Music Industry (she is friends with legends like Tony Visconti, Paul McCartney and Hugh Padgham)

By hosting these evenings, she is able to introduce Singers to Songwriters, Songwriters to Producers, Producers to Musicians etc. and many chart topping collaborations have come about because of her introductions.

Starting this month, she is bringing the concept to the North to Manchesters own Blueprint Studios (latterly home to Elbow and who’s clients include R.E.M., Justin Timberlake amongst others…)

Entrance is by Invitation only, but if you are interested in coming along you can write to her at

musicalgeisha@hotmail.com

let her know what you do in the industry, and see if she can swing you an invite.

It’s gonna be the place to be….

Promotion & Exposure, Scan News

Drumbeat 2014!!!

October 9, 2014 steveaudio

SORRY, BUT WE JUST HEARD THAT THIS EVENT HAS HAD TO BE CANCELLED UNTIL NEXT YEAR….

We’ve mentioned before that Scan does a lot of good work for charity, supporting different peoples endeavours and especially where it comes to musical efforts, so it’s great to be able to tell you that we are working with Drumbeat UK to try and achieve a phenomenal world record.
It’s happening at Event city on Friday the 21st of November, and we are going to be webcasting the whole event LIVE!!!!!!

Drummers!!! Come on down and be part of something very cool and worthwhile!!!

Promotion & Exposure, Scan News, Uncategorized

SCAN/NVIDIA LOCK IN NIGHT!!!

August 26, 2014 steveaudio

So, it would seem a little strange us Audio boyz blogging about the recent Scan/Nvidia Lock in Night featuring the launch of the new NVIDIA Shield, if it weren’t for the fact that the whole evening was supported by a riot of musical entertainment.
Whenever we do this sort of thing, we never do it by halves, and last Friday evening/Saturday was no exception.
From the Pro Audio side of things we had a blast featuring DJ sets from in-house Scan employee Penrar, our very own Tom Autobot and the Godfather of House, all the way from Chicago via Manchester, Mr Marshall Jefferson as well as a set from the Winners of our Velcocity 2014 competition rock section “Day Old Hate”.

On the Saturday we had our old buddy, the freshly crowned UK DMC Champion Turntablist DJ Rasp with us, and in all, the whole weekend had a very cool and vibey feel to it.

Promotion & Exposure, Scan News

100 sleeps!!!

August 11, 2014 steveaudio

To the Manchester Music Show!!

If you didn’t get a chance to join us last year, make sure you order your tickets early this year.

The Manchester Music Show is a superb 2 day music extravaganza, where you can come and see and hear and play the latest from the music industry. With top Brands and demonstrators, as well as special guests and guest speakers, this year promises to be an exciting, event packed experience, and for those of you interested in buying equipment (especially with Xmas round the corner!) Scan Pro Audio will once again be offering a range of unbeatable offers not available on the High Street.

Check out the web site as it comes live here:
And make sure it’s a date in your diary!

Comment, Scan News

Sunday Post!!

July 16, 2014 steveaudio

Sunday Deliveries!!!!!

One of the things scan prides itself on, is its excellent service record.
Not a day goes by when we don’t get Emails, letters, texts complimenting us on our service, and no matter how good that is, we never stop trying to improve.
So imagine how pleased we were to hear the news that our delivery partners DPD are to start a Sunday delivery service with same one –hour delivery window sent to you at the start of the day!

No excuses not to get that little bit of kit you’ve been promising yourself……

Computer Music - Software, Production & Technique, Promotion & Exposure, Scan News

BITWIG!!!! Very new and Very cool…….

March 27, 2014 steveaudio

So, this week has seen the launch of the first major new player in the world of Digital Audio Workstations in a long, long time.

To be fair, Bitwig launched their Beta quite a while ago, (and I blogged about the promises it offered in terms of collaboration with other users), but it’s been a rocky road for the guys and we’re pleased to be hosting the Shiny new finished product here at Scan Towers tonight as part of our ongoing Webcast series.

Bitwig are promising a fresh look at the DAW, and their heritage suggests that they have the capability to do this very well (ex- members of the original Ableton team remember).

They claim that every new feature in Bitwig was designed by Muscians and is therefore very useful, as opposed to features included by programmers just because they can…

WINDOWS, MAC OS X, LINUX

All for one, one for all.

The next generation of software for sound and music creation is available on all three major platforms: Windows, Mac OS X, and Linux. Produce, share, and collaborate from completely different machines. When it comes to which operating system you wish to use with Bitwig Studio, the choice is yours.

INTEGRATED USER INTERFACE

Customized workflow to match any style.

Today it’s possible to make music with any DAW. What sets each one apart is workflow, how quickly you can realize your ideas, and the freedom to choose how you produce and perform. In Bitwig Studio, use the Clip Launcher alongside your arrangement to draft your song‘s layout on the fly, or use it exclusively as a performance tool. This is one of many features that demonstrates Bitwig Studio’s seamless integration of multiple views into your workflow as needed, the way you want it.

PLUG-IN SANDBOXING

Damage control.

Never again will a single plugin take down your entire project. The “sandboxing” feature built-in to Bitwig Studio ensures plug-in crashes will not interrupt valuable production time, or better yet, your performance on stage. Choose 32-bit, 64-bit, or choose both. No third-party bridging is necessary to run your favorite plugins side-by-side. Bitwig Studio protects your workflow while efficiently running your VSTs for non-stop creativity.

UNIFIED MODULATION SYSTEM

Modulation redefined.

Modulating one parameter from the next often means losing hands-on control – until now. Bitwig Studio is hard-coded with a Unified Modulation System, allowing you to easily link any device parameter, including nested internal devices and VST plug-ins, without losing hands-on control. Never before has modulating virtually any parameter between devices been so simple. Nothing is locked, so you can manipulate on the fly to find the perfect range of modulation. Make your devices take on a life of their own, create dynamic relationships between sounds, and hear your music begin to breathe.

OPEN MULTIPLE PROJECTS

Limited to one idea? Think again.

The bassline from your last session could be the missing piece of your current project. The rhythm section in your latest song carries perfectly over to the next. No need to close anything or dig through complex file structures. With Bitwig Studio, open multiple projects at the same time and drag-and-drop between them.

OPEN CONTROLLER API

Your controller just became a lot smarter.

“Smart controller“ takes on a new meaning in Bitwig Studio. The Open Controller API is accessible not only to you, but also to third party manufacturers for complete integration of your favorite controllers like never before. This feature allows you to freely edit existing control maps direct from the companies that design your controllers, or to easily create your own. Get the most out of your gear with hands-on control of parameters that mean the most to you, and take full advantage of every pad, knob, button, and key at your fingertips.

DETAIL EDITOR

Everything in its place.

Bitwig Studio is designed to offer unprecedented flexibility by eliminating boundaries at every step of music creation and performance to give you greater control over your workflow than ever before. The Detail Editor revolutionizes audio editing by allowing you to perform non-destructive editing within a clip, allowing you to stretch, split, pitch, pan, copy, reverse, add, move and re-arrange audio as you wish. Edit multiple tracks in the same view, edit notes using audio as a reference, isolate your view to one clip or expand it to see the everything in the entire track. Consider the Detail Editor your very own limitless creative space.

Go wild.

DYNAMIC OBJECT INSPECTOR

Build up your ideas, faster.

Start with a groove or motif, take the idea that inspires you from the start and quickly transform it into a complete composition. Bitwig Studio introduces new ways to keep up with your inspiration. Take the Dynamic Object Inspector, it allows you to select multiple notes or events and edit them together with an interactive histogram, easily adding variations as you go.

Included Devices

Made in Berlin.

Each device in Bitwig Studio was designed in-house using a modular system integrated in the application. The modular system will be available to anyone using Bitwig Studio in the future. A simple click will allow you to modify any existing device, or create your own. Our selection of current devices demonstrate the power hidden beneath the hood of Bitwig Studio, where limits are defined by the scope of imagination.

So Given all of this Wonderfulness, how is it going to be received?

Well, its worth taking a look at our webcast tonight, or looking at the archive on You Tube later, and judge for yourself.

Either way, we’re very excited to be in at the start of this and wish our Bitwig Buddies all the very best for the future.

LN 56632

Promotion & Exposure, Scan News

BitCoin!!!

February 17, 2014 steveaudio

Bitcoin!

You may have noticed that Scan have become one of the first On-line Retailers to accept Bitcoin.

Bitcoin is a REAL currency, used on-line to purchase items in just the way you would with Pounds, Dollars or Euro’s.

In the future, digital transactions like these will become the norm.

Think about the advantages….. These are Person to Person payments that don’t need a bank or clearing house, so no-one needs to earn any extra fee’s, you can use them across the world in different countries, and no-one gets to tell you whether or not you ‘qualify’ for a bank account nor can they ‘freeze’ your account.

In order to use them, you’ll need a Digital Wallet in which to keep your Bitcoins, and somewhere to buy them. (It is possible to generate your own by a process called ‘mining’ but we don’t recommend you get into that until you’ve made a few transactions of your own)

How do I use my Bitcoin to Pay at Scan?

At the checkout simply select Bitcoin as your payment method, and then click the “Complete order with bitcoin” button. You will then be taken to BitPay to complete payment. BitPay will convert the GBP value of your order to bitcoin using the latest exchange rates. You have 15 minutes to pay the exact amount shown. You can either scan the QR code, or transfer the bitcoins to the wallet address shown. Once done you may need to press the refresh icon to see that your payment is complete. Note: Any under and over payments will prevent us from processing your order correctly. Please contact customer services in this case to ensure that your bitcoins are returned to you. Now your payment is complete, the Bitcoin network will confirm your transaction. Before your order is picked and despatched we require six confirmations, this may affect our ability to despatch your order on that day. Should your order not reach one confirmation within an hour of payment then your payment will be declined. In such case please contact our payments team for the next steps to rectify.

You can find out more about Bitcoin here……

http://www.weusecoins.com/en/getting-started

Either way, at least check it out so you know what everyone else is talking about……

Promotion & Exposure, Scan News

NAMM 2014

January 22, 2014 steveaudio

Well, it’s that time of year again….

Each year in Anaheim, Califiornia, the annual NAMM show takes place, with all new products and all manner of musical goodies designed to part you from your cash, and it looks like this year is going to be no exception…

There will be many things that excite us this year, but two have been released early, and both look like game changers..

The first comes from Steven Slate, who is thought by many to be king of ‘In the box’ i.e. computer recording. He has released details of his new product, the Slate Virtual Microphone system.

Essentially via some clever manufacture and some even cleverer modelling technology, Steven Slate reckons he can give computer based studios, access to some of the finest microphones ever made. Microphones that would cost you an arm and a leg to try and buy, even if you could source them.

If this is true, and his past history is remarkably solid on this front, then we believe this is a truly huge breakthrough, and one which will herald a new age of home and project studio recording.

Watch this space for further news……

Second up, is again a huge innovation.

Fishman transducers, known for many years for their work in Acoustic Pick-ups and pre-amps, have for the first time got themselves involved in the world of Electric guyitar pick-ups and once again, if they are correct, they have produced a ground-breaking product with their ‘Fluence’ range of pick-ups.

Basically they have overturned years of traditiona l pick up design, and created a modern noise-free, hum free pick-up with the ability to change sounds at the push of a switch.

Both of these products promise a superb NAMM show, and we here at Scan can’t wait to see what else is revealed tomorrow…….

Computer Based Music & Audio Production